Lapford

Near the village of Lapford in Mid Devon lies the Bury Barton Roman fort, a Scheduled Monument first identified from aerial photography by Professor St Joseph in 1975. Ground examination in 1980 and excavations from 1983-1985 revealed a Neronian auxiliary fort established c. AD 55, measuring approximately 105 by 170 metres (1.8 hectares) with triple ditches on the east side. The fort served as part of a defensive screen protecting Legio II Augusta at Exeter, alongside forts at Okehampton and North Tawton. A large pre-Flavian fort was succeeded by a smaller one, both abandoned early in the Flavian period.